Enrollment sits above 33,000

By Angie Hunt, news service
September 12

Iowa State's fall enrollment of 33,391 reflects the state's largest freshman class and more Iowa undergraduate students than any other university.

"We have one of the most beautiful campuses in the world located in the nation's best college town," said President Wendy Wintersteen. "At ISU we have a 95 percent post-graduation placement rate, which speaks to how we empower students to reach their full potential through exceptional teaching and research programs and a growing culture of innovation and entrepreneurship."

The largest freshman class in the state (5,597) is part of 28,294 undergraduates on campus. The number of first-year students from Iowa high schools is up slightly from last year, 3,380 compared to 3,362. Nearly 60 percent of undergraduate students -- 16,865 -- are from Iowa. With both undergraduate and graduate levels, there are 18,341 students from Iowa.

Enrollment strong following record graduation

A record 6,892 undergraduates earned degrees in 2019, surpassing an all-time high set the previous year. The four-year graduation rate is also a record, with the average time to degree for all students at 4.4 years. Laura Doering, associate vice president for enrollment management and student success, said record graduating classes are a factor in Iowa State’s changing enrollment.

Demographic shifts in the number of students going to college, fewer international students attending U.S. universities and more prospective students entering the workforce directly out of high school also have affected enrollment. Fall enrollment is down 1,601 (about 4.5 percent) from 2018.

Smart, diverse, engaged

Iowa State's freshman class set a record for average high school rank (77.68), average GPA (3.68) and percentage in the top 10 percent of their high school class (28.4 percent). The student body represents all 99 Iowa counties and all 50 U.S. states (plus Washington, D.C.; Guam; Puerto Rico; the Virgin Islands and Mariana Islands), as well as 115 countries. It's also more diverse -- 15.3 percent of undergrads are multicultural students. There are fewer international students on campus this fall -- 3,189 compared to 3,671 in 2018.

Doering says ISU students are actively engaged. In fact, the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2020 College Rankings recently ranked Iowa State in the top 50 for student engagement. More than 41 percent of undergraduates participate in two or more high-impact experiences during their time on campus including 6,176 in learning communities, 440 in the first-year Honors program and 400 in undergraduate research, annually. An additional 1,800 students study abroad each year and 10,528 compete in intramural sports.

"Our students have so many opportunities in the classroom as well as learning that happens outside of the classroom," Doering said. "They have an amazing experience here at Iowa State and then go on to have great success with the next steps in their lives."

Funding request to replace LeBaron Hall goes to regents

By Anne Krapfl
September 12

State funding requests for the year that begins next July, a $55 million replacement/renovation proposal for LeBaron and MacKay halls, and a recommendation to discontinue a 4-year-old shared student application portal are on the agenda when the state Board of Regents meets Sept. 18-19 at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. The full agenda is online and, for the first time, live videostream of all public portions of the meeting will be available on the board's website.

Iowa State will ask for the same increase ($7 million) to its general university operating appropriation it sought during the 2019 legislative session, when it received $4 million. No incremental increases will be requested for the university's direct appropriations for programs and units. The regents face an Oct. 1 deadline to submit fiscal year 2021 funding requests to the state.

As proposed, Iowa State and the University of Iowa will seek an additional $2.9 million in FY21 for the four platforms in its joint Biosciences Innovation effort, currently supported by $1.1 million in state funds. Iowa State is taking the lead on three of the four platforms (biobased chemicals, precision and digital agriculture, vaccines and immunotherapies) identified in a 2017 "TEConomy" report released by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Iowa is overseeing the fourth, medical devices. A year ago, the two universities requested $4 million ($1 million per platform) in recurring appropriations to work with the state's economic development authority to establish the Iowa Biosciences Development Center. The FY21 request reflects that funding plan.

New central campus building

Iowa State will present a three-year (2021-23), $10 million per year state appropriations request to the board, part of a $55 million plan to provide modern instructional and research space for the College of Human Sciences. If funded, the project would replace LeBaron Hall (built in 1958 and not significantly renovated since) with a new building that's 70% larger. It also would renovate a small portion of the adjoining MacKay Hall. The college completed space studies in 2014 and 2017, and while it needs additional space, would like to maintain its central campus location.

As proposed, the state funds would be supplemented with $10 million in university funds and $15 million in private gifts.

Admissions portal underused

The Iowa Public Universities Application Portal launched in July 2015, an outcome of the regents' 2014-15 TIER efficiency study and intended to provide high school graduates an efficient way to apply to more than one regent university. However, use has been low -- between 66 and 137 completed applications annually. In the meantime, all three regent universities started using the National Common Application, which meets the needs of Iowa residents who want to apply to more than one of the state's public universities. The regent universities' admissions study team recommends discontinuation of the state portal.

In other business, Iowa State leaders will seek board permission to:

• Demolish the Insectary building on Pammel Drive. Entomology department employees and programs moved into the Advanced Teaching and Research Building last year and the building is vacant. The site would be maintained as green space. University funds would cover the estimated $600,000 demolition cost.
• Replace the roof on all sections of Friley residence hall. The cost, estimated at $5.6 million to $6 million, would be paid with dormitory system improvement funds.
• Add a bachelor of science in business analytics degree program in the Ivy College of Business, beginning in January 2020.
• Add a masters of athletic training degree program in the College of Human Sciences, beginning in May 2020.
• Sell 10.6 acres of woodland on Stagecoach Road in east Ames to an Ames family for $166,500, the highest of two bids received. Previously the land was used for forestry department teaching and research (1954-66) and leased to the city (1966-2016).

Wintersteen celebrates successes, emphasizes innovation in annual address

By Dave Roepke
September 12

In her first state of the university address since her installation last fall, President Wendy Wintersteen celebrated Iowa State's accomplishments and looked ahead to its coming challenges and opportunities. In a speech highlighting a wide range of topics, she emphasized innovation as an essential institutional initiative that will enhance Iowa State by boosting creativity, collaboration and leadership.

"This is truly going to be a way that we change how students, how parents, how Iowa thinks about Iowa State University," she said.

While she touched on the university's existing programs to support startups, an effort by deans to integrate more entrepreneurship into each college's curriculum and the pitch contest held at the university's state fair exhibit last month, Wintersteen said the Student Innovation Center opening next semester will be key to Iowa State's identity as a place for creation. The opening of the interdisciplinary facility will be accompanied by donor-funded branding and marketing.

"At the end of the year and the beginning of next year, you're going to start to see a campaign that is going to lift up Iowa State and the work it's doing in this area in a way that I think you won't believe," she said.

Here's what Wintersteen shared about several other topics during her 40-minute speech Sept. 11 in the Memorial Union Great Hall:

Diversity and inclusion

Wintersteen aims for Iowa State to be the most welcoming and inclusive land-grant university, and she singled out several efforts to improve diversity and inclusion, such as the Connect Four program in the College of Human Sciences and the LEAD IT program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Reports following up on the 2017 campus climate survey are now posted on the campus climate website and identify numerous action items, she said. Those underway include a task force studying how to improve the availability and affordability of high-quality child care and development of a civility campaign to complement the university's principles of community.

"I want to thank all of you for the work you do in this area. And I want to encourage you all to do more. This is an important goal for us. We all need to engage and every day think about how we welcome someone who looks different than us, somebody who dresses different than us, somebody who is from a different state, nation, around the world. Let's reach out a hand of welcome to everyone," she said.

Research and scholarship

“An excellent university is the product of an outstanding faculty,” Wintersteen said, quoting former President Gregory Geoffroy, before recapping faculty achievements in the past year:

• Seven were named American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows
• Six won grants through the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
• Three won Fulbright awards
• Two were named National Endowment for the Humanities fellows
• Geetu Tuteja was named Iowa State's first Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences
• Patricia Thiel was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Costas Soukoulis was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors
• Debra Marquart was named Iowa's poet laureate

Wintersteen also noted that ISU faculty set a record for external research funding ($261 million) and secured a total of 34 U.S. patents in 2018, ranking 69th among universities worldwide, an increase from 83rd the year before.

Infrastructure

Wintersteen commended several recently completed or ongoing building projects, including the Advanced Teaching and Research Building, the expansion of the Gerdin Business Building, the renovation of Brunnier Art Museum, the Student Athlete Sports Performance Center and the Sycamore Falls project in Reiman Gardens.

More needed infrastructure projects are on the way, she said. Groundbreaking will be held Friday for a $21.2 million feed mill and grain science complex. A new facility for industrial and manufacturing systems engineering and renovations at Ames Laboratory are under discussion, she said.

Student success

All four students Iowa State nominated a year ago Goldwater Scholarships -- the maximum allowed -- were accepted to the program, the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering, Wintersteen said. Iowa State also had two Udall Scholars and a Fulbright Award recipient in the past year.

On a whole, students also are doing well. A record 6,892 undergraduates earned degrees in 2108-19, and students are graduating in 4.4 years on average, the fastest clip in two decades, she said.

"Our students excel. We could go on and on all day telling stories about the success of our students," she said.

Enrollment and funding

While another decrease in enrollment this year will have a budget impact, Wintersteen said leaders have been planning for it and tuition increases will help address shortfalls. She said enrollment remains robust and provides a relief from record student populations a few years ago, which put stress on facilities, faculty, staff and students.

She touted the success of the Forever True fundraising campaign, which has raised $1.2 billion of the $1.5 billion it is aiming for by summer 2021. Those gifts provided $18 million in student scholarships last year and funded 209 endowed chairs, professorships and faculty fellowships.

Iowa State's legislative request, set for state Board of Regents approval next week, would include a $7 million increase to general operating appropriations. Wintersteen vowed to keep improving how Iowa State shows legislators it's an investment, not a cost.

Workday and improved service delivery

While she acknowledged it has been a trying period of change, Wintersteen said the transition this summer to Workday and service teams for handling HR and finance transactions was long overdue. Legacy systems were aging and vulnerable, she said.

"We had been living on borrowed time for a very long time," she said.

The service teams formed by the improved service delivery (ISD) initiative were necessary because, "We needed individuals who could truly become, over time, experts in how to run this very expensive system we had purchased," she said.

Project leaders have been gathering feedback to address what Wintersteen said consultants predicted would be an "adoption trough," a period after the system's launch devoted to solving complications the new software presents. 

"We want to continue to listen and hear how it is going and what we need to be doing differently. We can celebrate some great successes in how Workday has been implemented. We can also talk about the things that haven't worked like we hoped they would," she said.

It will probably be about six months "before we feel good" about the move to Workday and ISD, she said. But over time, it will help make the university more efficient, saving money.

"If we can better manage our budget, we can free up resources for important priorities. My top priority continues to be how we provide competitive salaries for our faculty and staff," she said.

Leaders present improvement plans for Workday, service teams

By Dave Roepke
September 12

In a presentation last week to the Professional and Scientific Council, top administrators overseeing the shift to Workday and service delivery teams outlined plans for improving the systems.

Iowa State overhauled how it handles finance, payroll and human resources transactions this summer, launching on July 1 new software for business processes (Workday) and a reorganization of the staff who do most HR and finance work (improved service delivery). The more centralized HR and finance teams -- as well as information technology (IT) staff -- also began using a common ticketing platform (ServiceNow) to respond to service requests.

Given the breadth of the changes, which involved transferring more than 600,000 records from legacy systems, much has gone right with the transition, said interim senior vice president for operations and finance Pam Cain.

"We implemented all these things all at the same time, a big bang. But guess what? Nothing blew up. Some of our patience did, I know that. But nothing in the systems," she said.

For instance, Cain pointed out, fewer than 50 of roughly 10,000 university employees saw their paychecks delayed. That effort took time, though. Interim vice president of university human resources Kristi Darr said that in July, her staff was focused predominantly on ensuring payroll went as smoothly as it did.

Cain, Darr and interim vice president and chief information officer Kristen Constant discussed at the council's Sept. 5 meeting what progress they're seeking this fall on a variety of issues related to Workday and service teams. The work to improve the systems is ongoing, with dozens of fixes daily, Darr said, and she expects it'll be a continual process.

"What we're committed to is incremental change," Darr said.

ServiceNow

Service requests for HR (HR_delivery@iastate.edu) and finance (finance_delivery@iastate.edu) automatically route to the service delivery team assigned to the sender's unit. Those emails and IT requests sent to solution@iastate.edu are tracked and managed with ServiceNow, a third-party ticketing program.

It's clear from feedback that some faculty and staff think the ticket system is impersonal and too slow, Darr said. She said HR service teams are working on improving their response times, which is more difficult as increasingly individualized concerns emerge.

"Those first few weeks, we felt like we could troubleshoot something fairly quickly. They're more complicated now. I had someone troubleshoot one ticket for eight hours yesterday," she said.

Regardless, Darr said HR specialists will aim to acknowledge and assign every request for service within one day. When possible, they will contact by phone people who submit a ticket, she said.

"We want to put the human back into these connections," she said.

On the finance side, specialists are experiencing heavy workloads, some with a queue of more than 1,000 pending tickets at times, Cain said. Leaders are looking for ways to balance those demands among service teams.

"We need to be a little more flexible," Cain said.  

Some changes have improved ServiceNow already. All service requests receive an automatically generated email response, which at first included a priority designation. But since Iowa State was not using the priority feature, all requests were marked as a "low" priority. Constant said that field has been removed from the auto-response emails.

Additional features of ServiceNow will be put in place in the future, possibly including priority-setting that may help triage lengthy inboxes.

"We'll use more of it. We can do better," Constant said.

Training

Cain and Darr both said specialists on their service teams need more guidance. Finance managers are meeting individually with team members to evaluate training needs in Workday and customer service, Cain said. Darr said planned post-launch training should begin soon and will help specialists find answers more readily. 

"I've been really impressed by their curiosity and eagerness to learn," Darr said of HR specialists.

Service teams aren't alone in needing additional instruction. Unit-level staff who support the hiring and management of student employees and graduate assistants will receive additional training and assistance, Darr said. Transitioning student employee personnel data to Workday often was cumbersome, she said.

There are more job aids coming, the step-by-step tips for specific tasks. HR and finance teams are developing job aids geared toward particular employee types, including ones designed for faculty. Constant said IT also is working on embedding links to job aids in Workday so users can easily access available and relevant help.  

Workflow

The new workflow that comes with a reorganized staff working in an unfamiliar software platform -- at the same as the university's accounting moves from cash-based to the accrual method -- needs some significant recalibration, the administrators said.

A big piece of that is figuring out what data and reports people need and making sure that information is available. Workday assigns security roles to positions, which determines what they can access. Cain said security roles already have been refined in some cases, such as when job duties require access to compensation details, but more work remains on that front. Darr said HR leaders also are evaluating security roles and access.

Cain said some finance specialists have been hired since go-live to beef up service teams with heavy workloads, and leaders are studying how to streamline approval chains and possibly tweak service team structures and office locations. Currently, there's too much redundancy in how some processes are routed, she said, which bloats the workload for finance teams.

To more clearly define roles on and outside of service teams, Cain said finance leaders are mapping out business processes again from end-to-end, looking for efficiencies.

Employees can help lighten the finance workload -- and save time themselves -- by including receipts for their purchase cards when submitting expenses, Cain said.

Feedback and communication

Strengthening lines of communication and feedback mechanisms is another priority.

Recently, users who submitted an IT service request started receiving a feedback solicitation after the request is resolved, with a smiley-face rating scale and a box for writing additional comments, Constant said. The automatic review email will soon extend to resolved HR and finance issues, too.

The WorkCyte leadership team created a new email account, WorkCyte_feedback@iastate.edu, for collecting general comments -- not requests for immediate service -- about Workday and service delivery, including concerns and issues but also any notes of appreciation.

Constant said HR, finance and IT teams collaborate closely and pool the questions they receive in service tickets to make sure they're on the same page and aren't repeating work. Progress on some of the more common issues reported are shared on the WorkCyte website.

Employees who feel their service requests aren't remedied by front-line specialists should keep in mind that the HR and finance service organizations have multiple levels of management, Darr said. She urged faculty and staff to escalate any unresolved issues.

"We appreciate folks reaching out. Pick up the phone and let us know," she said.

In other business

Council members approved their strategic initiatives for 2019-20, after a first reading at their August meeting. The priorities include improving employee engagement, strengthening advocacy, making pay and benefits more competitive, and creating a more supportive and welcoming work environment. 

Timeline is pending for new P&S classification/compensation structure

By Anne Krapfl
September 12

The university human resources (UHR) team developing a new market-based classification and compensation structure for Iowa State's professional and scientific (P&S) employees intentionally is waiting to roll it out. In her Sept. 10 update to a P&S audience, UHR director of classification and compensation Emma Mallarino Houghton said her team wants to help facilitate the campus transition to Workday and improved service delivery for finance and HR processes.

"There are a lot of people still learning new jobs, learning Workday. The president has asked us to be very caring about how we implement this project because it will have sensitivities associated with it as well," Houghton said. "When you're talking about titles and compensation, people are going to have feelings about that, so we want to give [implementation] the time and energy it deserves to do it well.

"I don't have dates, but as soon as we know them, we'll make them available to you," she said. "We know it's important to keep the end in sight."

The classification and compensation project, which began in spring 2017 with P&S employees describing the work they do, is independent of the university's migration to Workday software. However, the new structure will be implemented in Workday.

Houghton reminded her audience that the new structure will not change the work employees do or their current salary. What will change are job titles, which more accurately reflect the work done and one's work experience, and pay grades, which reflect the market for a job. The overarching goal of the new structure is to improve Iowa State's ability to attract and retain P&S employees, she said.

Moving toward implementation

Houghton said UHR leaders are talking with President Wendy Wintersteen and the senior vice presidents on an implementation timeline and guidelines.

"We want to make sure our senior leaders are comfortable with how we're doing this, especially given all the change we've been through," Houghton said.

Houghton said she wants an implementation process that's "as transparent as possible." She said she would prefer a two-phase rollout that first shares employees' titles and then compensation ranges.

Compensation, she said, "inserts an extreme bias," and it's important to first have "clean classifications" -- something the current system lacks. There will be a process for employee review and input when they learn where they've been slotted.

"We want employees to identify with the titles they've been given. We want to give them the opportunity to ask questions -- about their title, about their level, about any nuances."

State Board of Regents approval also is part of the implementation process.

Project update

Houghton said her classification and compensation team, in partnership with a team from Aon Consulting, has nearly completed the task of developing and writing job profiles -- the Workday term for what we know as classifications -- and assigning job titles to them.

"It's been a Herculean task to identify the type of work being done at the university and properly benchmark that in a way to be sure we create meaningful pay grades," Houghton said. "Making sure titles are accurate and reflective of what we do is critical to compensating employees appropriately."

The current structure of 425 classifications will be replaced with a structure that likely will reach 600 job titles -- but won't be stagnant, she said. The new structure also includes job families.

Houghton said the Aon team also has created the accompanying market-based pay structure, which contains 15 pay grades. Job titles have been assigned to the 15 grades. Houghton emphasized that as the market changes for a job, Iowa State will change its pay grade "so we remain competitive."

"From a university perspective, the goal is to continue to evolve the structure, keep tabs on it, not 'set it and forget it,'" Houghton said.

Tight budgets

Part of the implementation discussion with university leaders, Houghton said, will be how to address anticipated discrepancies between employees' current salaries and their pay grade in the new structure. She anticipates a first priority will be to make sure salaries at least meet pay grade minimums.

"This is a market study, not an equity study," she said, "but I don't want anyone to think there will be immediate changes. We aren't flush with cash, so it will take time."

Employees will not be asked to give up pay. "That's not our culture," she said.

Questions

In response to questions from audience members, Houghton briefly addressed these scenarios:

An employee who took on assorted duties left by co-workers who took positions in the improved service delivery model: 
"We worked with transition teams to make sure those duty assignments didn't affect or change classification. We kept a close eye on that. If there was specific concern about that, I promise you I was involved. Individuals who still are concerned should contact me."

An employee who may be slotted into a nonexempt job as a result of the new structure:
"Exemption status is driven by federal law (since 1932). At the end of the day, it's about protecting employees the law dictates are eligible for overtime pay. We've been working with legal staff to determine which titles are eligible. It will be at that level; if you hold certain job profiles [based on a duties test], that's how you'll know whether you're exempt or not. For employees that are nonexempt, we will provide you tools on timekeeping and other information."

An employee who thinks neither their position description nor 2017 job self-profile are accurate anymore: 
"If we assign you a title and it's not accurate to what you do, we want to hear from you and have an opportunity to take a look. Being assigned a title isn't the end."

An employee who thinks their salary is much lower than it should be, even after working many years in a position: 
"The new structure is going to highlight these kinds of issues, both high and low. What happens is going to be very individual. It's going to come down to a conversation between a manager, employee and HR employee about how to rectify that over time, whether that's a salary adjustment, some kind of market adjustment, through performance evaluation in the annual review process or something else. It will come down to coaching managers on who do you need to focus on and what are the top priorities."

 

Related stories

• New P&S classification structure is on schedule for fall rollout, March 14, 2019
• P&S class/comp implementation window shifts with Workday, May 31, 2018
• An update on the P&S class/comp review project, Sept. 14, 2017
• Classification review takes center stage at P&S Council, Aug. 10, 2017
• University to collect job information from P&S employees, May 18, 2017
• University kicks off review of P&S classification/compensation structure, May 4, 2017

Senators review faculty investigation process

By Jeff Budlong
September 12

Faculty Senate began a new academic year with a review of the faculty investigation process at its Sept. 10 meeting.

Associate provost for faculty Dawn Bratsch-Prince talked about what is involved when a complaint against a faculty member becomes a formal investigation. She outlined four types of complaints: conduct, appeal, research misconduct and equal opportunity.

"Faculty are subject to all university policies, including the ISU policy library and the Faculty Handbook," Bratsch-Prince said.

Faculty can only be disciplined by the peer-review faculty conduct process and any sanctions are administered by the provost's office.

In an equal opportunity complaint, an equal opportunity specialist investigates and the provost's office is notified when the investigation concludes. A determination of whether policy has been violated is made, and the finding moves on to a three-person faculty review board. Bratsch-Prince said that process could change this semester.

"We are working on a new process where (equal opportunity) is carrying out the investigation and determining fact, both the undisputed and disputed facts, but not making a finding," she said. "That would mean the faculty review board would receive the investigative report and determine whether there is a violation of policy."

The office of equal opportunity investigated approximately 130 cases in 2018, about 10% of which involved faculty. Bratsch-Prince said 43 conduct complaints have risen to the formal level in her 10 years in the provost's office.

Workday update

Workday launched July 1 and WorkCyte liaisons David Cantor and Jo Anne Powell-Coffman said it is in a stabilization period as issues and concerns are addressed. A listening session with President Wendy Wintersteen and university leaders on Sept. 3 produced 31 action items. Work continues to find solutions for those as promptly as possible.

Senators reported frustration in their departments when encountering issues, unsure where to go for resolution. Cantor said a rapid-response team is being formed of Workday and improved service delivery (ISD) experts to respond to the most important issues, and a faculty job aids page contains answers to frequent Workday and ISD questions. 

Provost review

Senate president Jonathan Sturm summarized a Faculty Senate committee's spring review of the office of the senior vice president and provost.

The review was favorable of the office's work, highlighting promotion of the ISU mission, support of inclusion and diversity across the university, and eagerness to entertain new initiatives. It also addressed areas for possible improvement, including more support for international collaborations and clarity of tenure and promotion criteria.

According to the Faculty Handbook, the senate reviews an office of senior vice president or president each year, with no more than five years between reviews.

New faculty fellow post will focus on online learning

By Anne Krapfl
September 12

The senior vice president and provost's office seeks tenured faculty applicants for a new fellow position focused on online learning. The administrative appointment is half time for two academic years (2019-21), with renewal possible. Applications are due Oct. 1.

Working with associate provost for academic programs Ann Marie VanDerZanden, the faculty fellow will strengthen and expand Iowa State's online learning portfolio. That includes creating and chairing a steering committee that will develop a shared vision for online learning across the university and working collaboratively on its implementation with stakeholders such as colleges, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Information Technology and others.

VanDerZanden said experience or a demonstrated interest in online learning and experience working with various campus groups are key qualities for the post.

"We have great pockets of expertise in all of our colleges, so can we find a way to do some coordination and leverage that expertise?" VanDerZanden said. "And, on a bigger level, are there opportunities we haven't explored as a university, whether that's in new content or new audiences?"

She said much of the growth in Iowa State's online learning is from students on campus taking online courses.

Fall timeline

Faculty applicants for the new post must be tenured, full-time employees who have worked at Iowa State for at least five years. More information, including a position description and application form, is online. Applications are due to Penni Bryant in the provost's office by Oct. 1. The faculty fellow will be selected by Nov. 1.

Questions about the position may be directed to VanDerZanden, 294-7184.

FY19 fundraising is among top years

By Elaine Watkins-Miller, ISU Foundation
September 12

Forever True, For Iowa State, Iowa State University's multi-year fundraising campaign, has raised $1.2 billion, which is 80 percent of its goal of raising $1.5 billion by 2021. During the 2019 fiscal year, which ended June 30, the Iowa State University Foundation raised $182 million to support the students, faculty, facilities and programs of the university. 

"Iowa State's alumni and friends are passionate about giving back to the university and making a difference in the world through their investments," said Jon Fleming, a 1975 Iowa State graduate who serves as the Forever True, For Iowa State campaign chair. "The Cyclone spirit is truly unstoppable." 

FY19 also was the third-largest fundraising year in the foundation's history. More than 6,700 students received donor-funded scholarships, and the number of endowed chairs, professorships and faculty fellowships grew to a total of 209. In addition, donations to the Student Innovation Center and a $17 million gift from the late Don Soults of Virginia are supporting Iowa State's innovation and entrepreneurship efforts. 

Over the past three years, total fundraising has reached all-time record levels. In fiscal years 2017 and 2018, the university received two transformational commitments -- $50 million from Debbie and Jerry Ivy, which resulted in the named Ivy College of Business, and a $160 million gift from an anonymous donor couple to support the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It was the largest gift in the university's history. 

"The investments at all levels that donors make have a tremendous impact on the people and programs at Iowa State. I have the privilege of seeing them come to life every day on campus," said President Wendy Wintersteen. "I am deeply grateful for the generosity of our donors and their love of Iowa State."

The original campaign goal was $1.1 billion, a target that was reached during FY19 and two years ahead of schedule. To capture the campaign's tremendous momentum, the target was increased by $400 million and extended another year.